PHOTO: Girl Scouts of the USA this week kicked off a year-long celebration of the centennial of the Girl Scout Gold Award. Photo Courtesy of Girl Scouts of the USA
By Forum Staff
The Girl Scouts of the USA this week kicked off a year-long celebration of the centennial of the Girl Scout Gold Award.
Throughout 2016, Girl Scouts across the country have invited alumnae and supporters to join them in “Celebrating 100 Years of Changing the World” by highlighting girls and women who have received the Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. The Gold Award centennial recognizes a century of girls whose service projects have created meaningful, sustainable change in their communities and around the world. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) joined GSUSA in celebrating the many Girl Scout Gold Award recipients who have positively impacted New York and the country with their “Take Action” projects.
“Congratulations to Girl Scouts of the USA on the 100th year of the Gold Award, the highest and most prestigious award a Girl Scout can earn,” Schumer said. “Girl Scouts of the USA promotes leadership, civic engagement, and community services—all things we should be instilling in our youth.
“Like the Boy Scouts’ Eagle Scout rank, the Girl Scout Gold Award recognizes those who have made a meaningful impact in their community and demonstrated tremendous aptitude,” Schumer continued. “I am proud to be a part of this centennial celebration, which rightfully honors and highlights the extraordinary achievements of young women across the country and shows the world that all of us—regardless of gender—can do anything we put our minds to! The great strides of these Gold Award recipients will have a lasting impact on our communities for years and years to come.”
According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, Gold Award recipients receive greater lifetime benefits than their peers — reporting a more positive sense of self; more leadership experience; and greater life satisfaction, life success, community service commitment, and civic engagement — thanks to their Girl Scout experience, including earning their Gold Award.
In March, both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives introduced a congressional resolution honoring Girl Scouts and 100 years of the Gold Award. The Senate unanimously passed the resolution in April.
Girl Scouts has nearly 60 million living alumnae—including many of today’s most powerful women in business, government, the arts, and beyond; and counting 75 percent of women in the Senate, who can trace their success back to their experience as Girl Scouts.
Girl Scout councils across the country will be hosting events in their communities to celebrate 100 years of the Gold Award throughout 2016. The organization is headquartered in New York City.
